Marine litter, most of it plastic, is one of the most visible threats facing Ghana’s beaches and fishing grounds. Friends of the Nation (FoN) works directly with coastal communities to build lasting awareness of how waste ends up in the ocean, and to encourage the everyday habits that keep it out.

What We Do

FoN runs community awareness campaigns, school outreach programmes, and beach clean-up exercises across coastal communities in the Western and Central Regions, using durbars, radio discussions, and community theatre to reach audiences that formal campaigns often miss. We work with market women, canoe owners, and youth groups to identify where waste enters the marine environment, from fish landing sites to drainage channels, and to design simple, locally owned solutions such as community waste collection points and clean-up rosters. Behavioural change is at the centre of this work: we focus not just on one-off clean-ups, but on shifting everyday habits around how waste is generated, stored, and disposed of.

Why It Matters

Plastic pollution damages fishing gear, contaminates the seafood coastal families depend on for food and income, and degrades the beaches that support tourism and community life. Lasting change requires more than removing waste after the fact. It requires communities that understand the problem, see themselves as part of the solution, and adopt habits that keep waste out of the ocean in the first place.